Vacuum sealing appliance

ABSTRACT

A vacuum sealing appliance  1  for sealing food product or other articles in a flexible container, the appliance comprises a housing containing a roll of container material  19,  an electric motor and associated drive system for causing the container material to automatically advance out of the housing at a predetermined length, a heat element  89  for creating seals on the container material, a vacuum chamber  39  for creating vacuum pressure within a section of container material, and a cutting mechanism  26  for cutting off the container material to create a sealed container containing the food product.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

None.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to electric appliances and, more particularly, to food preservation appliances of the type having a vacuum pressure sealing means for introducing vacuum pressure into a flexible container holding food product, and subsequently causing the container to be sealed.

Description of Related Art

Various designs exist for vacuum sealing appliances that introduce vacuum pressure into a flexible container holding food product, and subsequently causing the container to be sealed. Such known designs require either predetermined sizes of containers for automatic function, or a manual mode carried out by the user for custom sizes.

It is undesirable to always use a predetermined size container for various reasons including waste of material. It is undesirable to operate such appliances manually due to inconvenience and potential for error by the user.

OBJECT OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a vacuum sealing appliance having a variety of available pre-set sizes for automatic operation, as well as custom size mode.

These and other objects are achieved by the present invention disclosed herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, a vacuum sealing appliance for sealing food product or other articles in a flexible container, the appliance comprises a housing containing a roll of container material, an electric motor and associated drive system for causing the container material to advance out of the housing, a heat element for creating seals on the container material, a vacuum chamber for creating vacuum pressure within a section of container material, and a cutting mechanism for cutting off the container material to create a sealed container containing the food product.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a another side view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a side, cross-sectional view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a rear, partial perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a front, partial perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12A is a front, perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12B is a rear, perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a side, cross-sectional view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a partial perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a partial, perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a side, cross-sectional view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a side, cross-sectional view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a side, cross-sectional view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a side, cross-sectional view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a side, cross-sectional view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a side, cross-sectional view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a front, partial view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a partial perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a partial perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a partial, side, cross-sectional view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a partial, exploded view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a partial, exploded view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28A is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28B is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29A is a partial, cross-sectional views of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29B is a partial, cross-sectional views of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29C is a partial, perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30A is a partial, perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30B is a partial, perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30C is a partial, perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 32A is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 32B is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 33 is an exploded view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 34 is a partial, perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Referring to the Drawing Figures, an appliance 1 according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a housing 2 having a frame portion 3 and a lid 4. A plurality of foot supports 9 are on the bottom surface of the fame portion 3 to facilitate resting the appliance 1 on a flat surface. A pair of protruding members 10, 11 extend from the rear side of the housing 2 for wrapping the electrical cord (not shown) of the type generally known to those skilled in the art for conveniently storing the cord when not in use. A release button 12 is on one side of the housing 2 which, when depressed by the user, will unlock an internal locking mechanism that retains the lid 4 in a closed position during operation. The lid 4 is pivotally attached to the frame portion 3 via pair of hinges 20. A hose port 13 is located on the front of the housing 2. A control panel 5 is positioned on the lid 4 and has a plurality of lights 6, an LCD 7, and a plurality of buttons 8. The lights and LCD display information relating to the operation of the appliance. The various buttons are used to input information regarding specific functions related to operation of the appliance, as explained below.

On the front of the housing frame portion 3 is a beveled edge 15 which forms a ramp for feeding container material into the appliance 1. The edge 16 of the lid 4 aligns with but does not touch the beveled edge 15 in order to leave a gap 17 between the two to provide space of feeding the container material into the appliance 1.

Referring to FIG. 8, the lid 4 has a transparent section 18 through which a user can view the roll of container material 19 which is mounted within the appliance 1.

Referring to FIG. 9 and to FIG. 27, a pair of pulley wheels 21, 22 are mounted within the housing 2. Pulley wheel 21 is in communication with and driven by an first electric motor 23 and associated gear box 24. A flexible drive belt 25 is mounted on the pulley wheels 21, 22 for movement therewith. A cutter assembly 26 is fixed to the belt 25 for movement therewith. As the driven pulley wheel 21 is moved by the first electric motor 23 and associated gear box 24, the cutter assembly 26 moves linearly to cut container material positioned adjacently. A cutting blade 27 is part of the cutting assembly 26. A set of driven wheels 28 are mounted to a driven shaft 29. The shaft 29 is driven by a first motor as explained below. Opposing the driven wheels 28 are idler wheels 30 which are fixed to an idler shaft 31 which is freely rotatable. The driven wheels 28 are spring-biased into contact with the idler wheels 30. A control circuit board 32 is positioned in the lid 4 beneath the control panel 5. A power management circuit board 33 is positioned beneath the control circuit board 32. A plurality of bag stoppers 34 are pivotally attached to the frame 37. An elliptical gasket 36 is provided adjacent to a vacuum frame 37 which receives a vacuum insert 38, forming a passage 39. A silicone bar 40 extends along the frame 37. A set of infrared sensors 41, 42, 43 are mounted to the frame portion 3 of the housing 2. A chamber-forming surface 44 integrally formed with the frame portion 3 has recess 45 that is of the same length and width as passage 39. The recess 45 and the passage 39 form a vacuum chamber when the frame 37 is closed such that it is in sealing contact with the chamber-forming surface 44, as described below. A vacuum pump 46 of a type known to those generally skilled in the art is provided within the frame portion 3 to provide vacuum pressure to the vacuum chamber during operation.

As shown in FIG. 10, a roll of container material 19 comprising two sheets of flexible material such as but not limited to a common plastic material is positioned on a support surface. The sheets are joined along parallel sides lengthwise but open at each end so as to form a long, flat, open ended tube that is rolled upon itself. A material feed gear box 47 is operatively connected to a second electric motor 48. A drive gear 49 is driven by an output shaft 51 and engages and turns a gear 50. Springs and linkages 52, 53 move the idler wheels 30. The second motor 48 and associated drive parts cause the roll of container material 19 to be unrolled during operation. This is accomplished by the driven wheels 28 and the driven shaft 29 being turned by the second motor 48.

Referring to FIG. 11 and to FIG. 26, a sliding plate 54 is mounted for longitudinal movement along the frame portion 3. Downwardly extending keys 55, 56 extend from the plate 54 and engage track means to prevent the plate 54 from moving away from the track or in a nonlinear manner. A control panel bracket 57 extends from the control panel 5 and has a horizontal surface 58 including fastener holes 59 for fastening to the frame portion 3. Referring to FIGS. 30A-30C, a clamping motor 61 and associated gear box 60 drive a drive gear 62 which, in turn, drives a driven gear 63. The driven gear 63 is attached to a first linkage arm 64, which is attached to a second linkage linkage arm 65. A clamping rod 66 is attached to the second linkage arm 65. The second linkage arm 65 has an extending portion 67 with a pin roller 68. The pin roller 68 is adapted to engage a hook portion 69 at the end of an extending member 70 that extends downwardly from the lid 4. When the driven gear 63 rotates in the direction shown by the arrow 71, the clamping rod 66 rotates in the direction shown in the arrow 72 causing the pin roller 68 to move into the slot 73 of the hook portion 69. On the other end of the rod 66 is a third linkage arm 74 also having a pin roller 75 that is adapted to engage a slotted hook portion 76 at the end of a member 77 extending downwardly from the lid 4. A flag 78 attached to the linkage arm 74 moves downwardly when the clamping rod 66 rotates in order to contact and actuate the microswitch 79 to operate the vacuum pump 46. A pair of ratchet latching mechanisms 80, 81 are provided for engaging locking tabs ( ) on the inside of the lid 4 in order to lock the lid 4 closed during operation. Each latching mechanism 80, 81 is slidably mounted to a respective latch rod 82, 83. Each latch rod 82, 83 has a spring 84, 85 mounted thereon to draw a respective one of each latching mechanism 80, 81 toward each other to cause the latching mechanisms 80, 81 to engage locking tabs ( ) inside the lid 4. Each latching mechanism 80, 81 has a slanted surface for camming action to cause the respective mechanism to move laterally and return to latch. To release the latching mechanisms 80, 81, a user depresses the latch release button 12, which displaces a third rod 86. The third rod 86 moves the spring anchor 87 toward the latching mechanism 80 to relieve tension in the spring 84 to enable displacement of the latching mechanism 80 and, therefore, release of both latching mechanisms 80, 81.

Operation of the appliance 1 will now be described with particular reference to FIGS. 12-20, generally. Referring to FIG. 13, a roll of container material 19 is being manually loaded by a user into the appliance 1. The lid 4 is opened as shown in order to place the roll 19 therein. The distal end 88 of the roll of material is fed manually to the position shown in FIG. 13. The material distal end 88 passes between the wheels 28, 30. When the roll 19 is fully set inside the appliance 1 and the lid 4 is closed as shown in FIG. 16, the user depresses a control button causing the driven wheel 28 to rotate and advance the material, as well as causing the cutting blade 27 to move out of the way of the distal end 88 of the material. The wheels 28, 30 close together upon each other in contact on each side of the container material as shown in FIG. 16. This provides sufficient friction to advance the material. The bag stoppers 34 are contacted by the distal end 88 and pivoted out of the way as shown in FIG. 17. In response to a user input command to initiate container material sealing, the vacuum frame 37 and the silicone bar 40 are lowered together onto the previously fed container material. Once the silicone bar 40 is lowered it presses against the container material causing it to press against the heat sealing bar 89. The user command initiates activation of the heat sealing bar 89. The heat sealing bar 89 may be one of any known electrical heat generating means such as, preferably, a NiCad wire embedded in the bar 89.

Referring to FIG. 19, once the sealing bar 89 has heated the container material causing the two-sheet material to bond along where the bar contacted it, the result is the creation of a sealed region 90 that runs across the entire width of the sealing material to form what will later be the edge of a sealed container. The vacuum frame 37 and silicone bar 40 are raised to enable the material to be advanced again. The material is advanced so that the distal end 88 is positioned outside of the appliance 1 at a distance corresponding to the desired size of container and designated by the user manually or by an automatic preset.

Referring to FIG. 20, the vacuum frame 37 and silicone bar 40 are lowered to hold the container material and prevent it from further advancing or retreating while the cutting blade 27 is activated to cut the container material at the desired length. After cutting, the frame 37 and silicone bar 40 are raised so the user can remove the cut section of container material. As shown in FIG. 20 a, the previously cut section of container material is removed by the user and is in the form of a four sided container having a single, opened end 91, as shown in FIG. 34.

At this point, a user can insert food product or another object to be sealed in the container material. The user manually holds together the two layers of material at the un-sealed end 93 and inserts the unsealed end 93 into the appliance 1, and then the vacuum frame 37 and silicone bar 40 are closed again as shown in FIG. 21. The portion of the container material containing the object or food product is shown in FIG. 21 as designated by numeral 92.

During insertion the infra red sensors 41, 42, 43 detect the presence of the opaque markings 94 printed along the edges of the container material as shown in FIG. 32. By do, the sensors can signal to a control circuit how much length of material is inserted so that it can determine when the edge of the material is positioned for operation of the vacuum feature and subsequent final sealing. As shown in FIG. 21, the unsealed end 93 of the container material is manually advanced until it contacts the bag stoppers 34. It is not necessary that the container material contact the stoppers 34, as the stoppers 34 merely prevent over-insertion.

As the container material markings 94 advance past the sensors 41, 42, 43, signals generated are processed by the controller and the controller initiates the vacuum pressure function. As part of this function, the vacuum frame 37 lowers over the chamber 45. Since the edge of the container material has been stopped by the stoppers 34, the edge remains in the chamber 45 which is now subjected to vacuum pressure. After suction is applied until there is minimal air left within the container material, the heat sealing bar 89 is activated and causes opposing surfaces of the container material to fuse together forming a sealed edge.

While the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed herein, it is understood that various modification can be made without departing from the scope of the presently claimed invention. 

1. An electric appliance for forming a vacuum-sealed container from a roll of flexible material around an object, said appliance comprising a housing adapted to receive a roll of flexible, two-ply material that is formed from two layers that are joined at their longitudinal side edges to form a continuous roll of material having an opening at each end in a flattened, tube shape; a driven roller for advancing said material from said roll by frictionally engaging part of said roll of material; a control circuit for controlling operations of said appliance and for automatically controlling operation of said driven roller so that said material is advanced from said roll in a predetermined length; a heating bar for applying heat to a section of said material perpendicular to its longitudinal side edges in order to seal together the two layers to form a first sealed edge; a cutting mechanism for cutting said material along said first sealed edge so that a container section of material is separated from said roll; and a vacuum pump for applying vacuum pressure to an opened edge of said container section of material.
 2. An appliance according to claim 1, further comprising at least one sensor arranged to detect the presence and location of an edge of container material inserted into said appliance and adapted to generate a signal and transmit it to said control circuit.
 3. A method of forming a vacuum-sealed container from a roll of flexible material around an object, said method comprising providing an appliance having a housing adapted to receive a roll of flexible, two-ply material that is formed from two layers that are joined at their longitudinal side edges to form a continuous roll of material having an opening at each end in a flattened, tube shape, said appliance having a control circuit for controlling operations of said appliance; activating an electrical switch on said appliance causing a driven roller to automatically advance said material from said roll by frictionally engaging part of said roll of material to a predetermined length; applying heat to a section of said material perpendicular to its longitudinal side edges in order to seal together the two layers to form a first sealed edge; cutting said material along said first sealed edge so that a container section of material is separated from said roll; removing said container section from said appliance; placing an object into said container section through an opened edge of said container section; inserting said opened edge of said container section into said appliance; applying vacuum pressure to said opened edge of said container section of material; applying heat to said container section at its opened edge in order to form a second sealed edge; cutting said container section along its second sealed edge; and removing said container section from said appliance. 